The Congress’s Minister for Cooperation in Karnataka, K N Rajanna, stood up in the state legislature on March 20 and alleged that he had been the target of a “honey-trapping” attempt by a gang that had also targeted 47 others across party lines. Over two days, the issue of the honey-trapping of the minister rocked the Karnataka legislature, leading to the eventual suspension of 18 BJP MLAs who resorted to vandalism in the Assembly while demanding a firm word from the Congress government on what exactly it intends to do about Rajanna’s allegations. An assurance from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara about a “high-level probe” did not reassure the BJP MLAs who waved CDs — implying the existence of an explicit video — during their protest. On the surface, the developments appeared to be a routine clash between the Opposition BJP and the ruling party. However, peeling off the layers of the seemingly routine developments reveals the persistence of the underlying tensions arising from a power struggle within the Congress and the efforts of the BJP to drive a wedge through these fissures in the ruling party. The minister in focus K N Rajanna, 73, is a highly vocal member of a group of Congress MLAs who are considered to be staunch supporters of Siddaramaiah on account of a long association with the CM from their days in the Janata Dal and appreciation for his politics of upliftment of the backward communities. The cooperation minister who belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community of Nayakas has been the most vocal critic of Deputy CM and state Congress president D K Shivakumar who aspires to replace Siddaramaiah as CM. In recent days, he has raised questions with the Congress’s national leadership about Shivakumar holding multiple positions despite the stated “one man, one post” policy of the party. Rajanna is also part of a group of Congress ministers from backward communities — such as Satish Jarkiholi, an ST leader; G Parameshwara who is from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community; H C Mahadevappa who is also SC — who have been holding regular discussions on challenging Shivakumar's apparent hegemony over the party. Rajanna’s allegations came amid news that Parameshwara, who is also an aspirant for the CM's post, is closely associated with the family of a senior police officer whose stepdaughter was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a case of gold smuggling based on specific intelligence. In political circles, the word on the apparent import of Rajanna's allegations is that it is an indirect attempt to preempt any effort by Shivakumar’s inner circle to politically straitjacket him and others through coercive methods. While there is no evidence in the public domain to back the minister’s allegations, there is speculation that the minister and his associates have been able to link the honey-trap gang to the associates of a top leader. One of the apparent reasons why Shivakumar is the indirect target of Rajanna’s allegations is that the Deputy CM was linked to an alleged honey-trapping incident in 2021 when then BJP minister Ramesh Jarkiholi was forced to quit after a woman accused him of rape. A police investigation in the case disproved the rape allegations, while the probe in a counter-complaint of blackmail and extortion that Jarkiholi registered indicated the existence of a honey-trap gang that entrapped the then BJP minister. No charge sheet was, however, filed in the blackmail and extortion case. “D K Shivakumar and company have to be arrested. The woman who made the CD and the two youths who facilitated it, Shravan and Naresh, should be arrested, also a granite businessman, Shivakumar, from Kanakapura, his driver Parashivamurthy, and two leaders from Mandya all hatched the conspiracy to create the CD to defame me,” Jarkiholi alleged in 2023. “They have also made similar CDs of hundreds of persons from different parts of the state and have blackmailed many leaders from all parties and many government officials. The matter must be referred to the CBI,” he alleged. Shivakumar’s response Responding to Jarkiholi’s allegations, a defiant Shivakumar had said, “Did I ask him to take off his pants?” Following Rajanna’s remarks, the Deputy CM said only susceptible people fell into honey traps. “The people who lay honey traps don’t come to you simply. They move when you make a move. If you say ‘hello’, they say hello. What can they do if you don’t respond?” He, however, said a “police complaint should not be delayed” and that there “should be quick action”. Like Rajanna, Jarkiholi who is the older brother of the Congress minister Satish Jarkiholi also belongs to the Nayaka community. It was Satish Jarkiholi who first said on March 20 that attempts were afoot to “lay honey-traps for Congress leaders” and that at least two attempts had been made on a minister. On Saturday, Satish Jarkiholi claimed that the targets of “honey-trap” attempts were not just the leaders of his community but any leader who speaks out in the party. “It is not a targeting of Scheduled Tribes, but anyone who roars (speaks up) is targeted with the threat of CDs,” he said, suggesting links between the allegations and the internal power struggle in the Congress. He added, “It may not be all politically connected. Some of our MLAs and leaders have been trapped in the past and it was not politically connected. In some instances it is politically motivated, in other instances it is a sort of business to gain money through blackmail. Let us wait for an investigation.” The political implications Rajanna’s allegations appear to have had the effect of gridlock in the factional dispute in the state Congress. The episode, however, will be a setback for Shivakumar if he is directly linked to the allegations, as he attempts to galvanise support to stake a claim to be the next CM. The loss of trust among Congress MLAs could hamper the Deputy CM’s chances to gather the support of a sizable number of legislators to depose Siddaramaiah who is known to enjoy mass support across backward caste groups and minorities, while Shivakumar is yet to establish himself as a leader in his own Vokkaliga community, a dominant caste. The allegations of the use of unscrupulous methods to gain control over ministers and legislators are also not expected to go down well with the Congress high command. According to sources in the party, Shivakumar and his rival camp have briefed the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on the matter. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge met Siddaramaiah at the CM's residence on Sunday where the honey-trap issue was discussed, according to party insiders. Kharge, however, said after the meeting that it was a courtesy call to inquire about the health of the CM who is nursing a knee injury. Although a politically weakened high command can barely dictate terms, it is likely to go the way of numerical support to decide the leadership question, if the need arises. The BJP that has lacked major issues to take on the government till now has lapped up the controversy and the fervent protests in the legislature are seen as efforts to drive a deeper wedge into the Congress. The BJP raised the question of "who runs the government?" in the recently concluded Budget Session. It used the phrase “Karimani Mallika Yaru? (who owns the mangalsutra?)”, a reference to a popular Kannada film song from the 1990s, to make the point. “The burning question that haunts Kannadigas is whether it is a coincidence that all the ministers who have openly spoken about the honey trap network are in CM Siddaramaiah's faction or is there a political conspiracy behind this?” Leader of Opposition R Ashoka asked on social media as the allegations came to light.
